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About the course

Our school based training means you will be based in one of our partner schools on a main placement Monday – Thursday, and treated by the school as a member of staff. On Friday trainees come together for a day’s training of pedagogy and subject knowledge, following a comprehensive programme across the year. The PGCE delivered by Sheffield Hallam University will also take place on four Fridays across the year at the SCITT Training Centre (Nottingham). In the Spring term you will spend 6 weeks at another school, as the training must include you teaching in two schools. Trainees will be assessed throughout the year against the Teaching Standards as your work to gain QTS. There are two PGCE assignments due in January and May.

The course has been carefully structured to guide you through your transformation from a skilled practitioner to a confident teacher within a practical learning environment. Your choice to begin this course was just the beginning of your journey to learn and understand how to capture the observations and curiosity of young, aspiring children.

You will understand the National Curriculum and relevant Key Stages.

The course aims to:

Fulfil and support the general aims of the Bluecoat SCITT Alliance Nottingham Programme as set out in the submitted scheme

Develop competencies specific to the phase and subject which you are teaching

Ensure that trainees are competent professionals and effective teachers

Encourage an enthusiasm for education

Encourage trainees to challenge pupils and to meet their individual needs through personalisation.

You will be assigned a Subject Lead/Phase Lead. They will help you with specific subject issues and lead the Sessions.

You will have your own Mentor on each placement. This is an experienced teacher in your subject. They will give you an hour’s 1:1 mentoring session every week. They will also be the first person you should ask when you need help.

In addition to others in the department, you will also work with colleagues in the SCITT, throughout the Academy, in learning support and the Senior Leadership Team who will be pro-active in helping you. One of the advantages of choosing school based training is that you spend a significant amount of time in schools which have been selected because they want to train new entrants to the profession to become outstanding practitioners.

Interview process

If you are offered an interview this will be at one of the alliance schools for the phase range. The interview usually takes ½ a day. We are looking for an understanding of school based training, an awareness of current educational issues, a realistic and positive view of schools and schooling, clear reasons for wanting to teach, commitment to teaching pupils of all levels of ability, maturity and self-confidence, and an appropriate level of subject knowledge. You can expect to undertake the following tasks,

The interview process will include;

a short presentation (5 minutes)

a student engagement (20 minutes)

a formal interview (small panel)

a short written literacy test (20 minutes)

a short numeracy and literacy questions booklet (25 minutes)

subject knowledge test (where appropriate)

….as well as the opportunity to ask any questions.

If you are successful at this interview you will be offered a conditional place.

Bluecoat SCITT Alliance is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. Throughout the day staff involved in the interviews and activities will be assessing applicants, their suitability to work with children, experience, qualifications (and subject knowledge) and potential to become a trainee teacher.

How school placements work

Bluecoat SCITT Alliance works with a range of partner schools within the Alliance, and are selected carefully. Collaboration and partnership is the foundation of school based training. In hosting trainees Partner schools shall ensure that trainees have access to a range of experiences allowing them to fulfil the requirements of all of the Teachers’ Standards applicable to the phase being taught, and will be invited to participate in programme planning and improvements to the programme as part of the self-evaluation process.

Trainees are asked at interview if they have a preference of placement school, taking into account any personal circumstances and ability to travel.

Training takes place across the full academic year, September to July. Trainees will be in their placement school from the first day of term (having been suitably inducted and orientated by their mentor/school staff), and will undertake a second school placement in the spring for 6 weeks.

Trainees will be in school Monday – Thursday and will be at the SCITT Training Centre on a Friday for their training day.

The trainees increase their teaching commitment throughout the year.

They will roughly follow the programme below:

Weeks 1 - 2 Observing lessons

Autumn Term Working up to teaching 6 hours a week

Spring Term Working up to teaching 10 hours a week

Summer Term Working up to teaching 15 hours a week

Trainees would be expected to plan and mark for the lessons they are teaching, as well as attending relevant parents evening and extra-curricular sessions. The trainees are not to be left unattended whilst teaching and should receive feedback on each of their teaching episodes.

Fees

The course fees for 2019/2020 are as follows:

Student type

Fees to pay

UK students

£9,000

EU students

£9,000

Fees are paid pro rata across the three terms to fall in line with the arrangements of student finance with the SLC;

October 25%

February 25%

May 50%

There are no other costs.

We will ask you to confirm your method of payment, and agree to maintaining repayments by completing a tuition fee payment agreement.

All trainees will be invoiced for payments at each of the instalment periods.

Financial support

You could be eligible for either:

a scholarship of £28,000

a bursary of £26,000

To qualify for a scholarship you’ll need a degree of 2:1 or above in French or a related subject. For a bursary you’ll need a 2:2 or above in any subject.

You can’t claim both a bursary and a scholarship - you can only claim one.

Requirements

Qualifications

UK Degree or recognised standard equivalent at least 2:2 or above (please contact us if this is not the case to discuss)

For primary applicants, the degree does not need to be subject specific

For secondary applicants this should be in, or closely related to, your proposed teaching subject. Ideally, we would expect that at least 50% of your degree is relevant to the National Curriculum subject you intend to teach.

GCSE (or recognised standard equivalent) grade C or 4 or above in English and Mathematics (and a Science subject for Primary)

Literacy and Numeracy Professional Skills tests

Personal qualities

A desire to teach and work with young people.

All teachers need to be able to communicate well.

A commitment to work hard. Our teachers and partnership schools will work hard in supporting you, and you must demonstrate equal commitment.

Teaching is about working with others, we encourage you to work collaboratively, both with other trainees and with teachers.

You need to be open to new ideas, willing to review your own progress and reflect on the new situations in which you will find yourself. You will need to be organised and independent.

Other requirements

Admission to the course is subject to a satisfactory medical report, as you are required to meet the standards for 'Fitness to Teach'.

All applicants must undertake an Enhanced Disclosure from the DBS. You will be required to disclose previous offences as part of the checks.

Bluecoat SCITT Alliance is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All staff, and everyone involved in the Bluecoat SCITT Alliance Nottingham trainee placements shares this commitment, and are therefore expected to behave in such a way that supports this commitment.

About the training provider

Bluecoat Aspley Academy is the Lead School for Bluecoat SCITT Alliance; a Church of England Academy, our mission is to create a

distinctive educational community for all based upon Christian faith

and values. Our ethos is based on our mission statement ‘believe in

yourself, in others, in God.’

We support a one year School Direct Training Programme offered for Primary and Secondary, as well as a salaried option in certain subjects.

Trainees follow a school based teacher training programme and work alongside experienced teachers, supported by expert teaching professionals and outstanding teachers to support subject specific teaching. Our training is unique in that training is tailored to individual needs, to ensure all trainees are given the opportunity to succeed. Bluecoat SCITT Alliance Nottingham works in partnership with a range of schools situated in Nottingham, and Nottinghamshire to provide high quality initial teacher training.

What our Trainees say about our programme

"What a fantastic year! The SCITT course is well structured and progressively introduces trainees to the demands of the profession in preparation for a successful career in teaching. I was unquestionably supported during the year by course leaders, mentors and friends."

“I enjoy coming together for our training day , where we can share our experiences from our placement schools, and take away excellent advice and information that we take back into the classroom."

“Mentor meetings, support and guidance is constantly excellent and invaluable. SCITT team are all very supportive.”

About the accredited body

• Leadership of the provision is a strength; Leaders have a clear moral purpose and ambition to ensure that the provision meets the needs of trainees.

• Very strong and effective engagement of the partnership. Employment rates are good, meeting local needs well.

• Trainees have high standards of professionalism,

receive high-quality and tailored support in response to their emerging needs.

• High-quality well planned subject training takes place weekly, carefully focused so that trainees are quickly able to apply their learning in classroom.

Training with disabilities and other needs

Bluecoat SCITT Alliance Nottingham is committed to developing, maintaining and supporting a culture of equality and diversity across all aspects of the partnership. We aim to ensure equality of opportunity for all trainee teachers and staff, in an environment in which all individuals are recognised as being of equal value and are able to make best use of their skills through equality of opportunity. Our commitment to equality is, in part, achieved through the eradication of discrimination including disability (physical or mental impairment). We support the ethos of the social model of disability which attempts to remove barriers that restrict life choices for disabled people. We encourage all trainee teachers, or stakeholders to alert a relevant member of staff if they are disabled or become disabled in order that the SCITT can support them as appropriate.

If you require any special access arrangements, or disability support, we will ensure your placement school is suited to your needs and able to provide the support you require.

Support and advice

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